'Crash Bandicoot' is coming back — and PlayStation dropped hints about it for a long time

Remastered versions of "Crash Bandicoot," "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back," and "Crash Bandicoot: Warped," originally released on the first PlayStation, are coming to PlayStation 4 soon.

Look at this glorious update to everyone's favorite marsupial:

Though we don't know exactly when they will be coming out, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shawn Layden said the three games would be "fully re-mastered from the ground up" for PlayStation 4 during a recent presentation.

Knowing the announcement would be huge, Layden walked on stage with a beachy stage reminiscent of the original game's setting with a Crash-style shadow following behind him:

As it turns out, PlayStation has been teasing Crash's triumphant return for awhile now. Here are the signs that were sitting right in front of our faces:

PlayStation Experience is an annual event where PlayStation shows off its upcoming games. It's open to the public, and a big presentation kicks off the show from the head of Sony's PlayStation department. In 2015, Shawn Layden waltzed on stage wearing a "Crash Bandicoot" shirt, and a lot of people were left wondering whether it was a sign of things to come.

When Layden took the stage in early June 2016 during the game industry's big annual trade show, E3, and revealed that remastered versions of the series' first three games would be coming to PlayStation 4, everything clicked into place.

In a blog post published shortly after revealing Crash's return, he jokingly wrote, "Perhaps I should also address the bandicoot in the room. My t-shirt choice for the keynote at PlayStation Experience in December caused a bit of a stir."

How's that for an understatement?

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That unexpectedly touching scene in "Uncharted 4"

Naughty Dog

In the first few hours of "Uncharted 4," a giant blockbuster action game made by Naughty Dog, its main character Nathan Drake has a friendly wager going that he can beat his wife Elena's high score in what he calls her "TV game thing."

When Nathan boots up the PlayStation 1 sitting under the TV, what pops up on the screen is none other than Naughty Dog's first big hit, "Crash Bandicoot." You then assume control of Crash and can actually play through an entire level of the game while Elena smack-talks Nathan's performance.

This scene serves as a charming nod to Naughty Dog's past, but apparently it was also a hint as to what's coming in the future.

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Some very cryptic tweets from official PlayStation Twitter accounts

In February and May 2016, a couple of official PlayStation accounts tweeted out some very cryptic messages. The first came from the Playstation Mid-East account, which said, "Most wanted person...Where are you Crash?" alongside the image of a wanted poster:

The second showed an image of crash with the hashtag #TBT, which stands for "throwback Thursday":

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Hopefully a fully rebooted version of "Crash Bandicoot" is in the cards.

"Ratchet and Clank" recently got a completely new game. Could "Crash Bandicoot" be next?
Insomniac Games

Okay, Layden, now we really need to address the bandicoot in the room.

Now that we know we're getting a remastered version of some "Crash Bandicoot" games, does this mean we might be getting a completely new game sometime soon?

Insomniac recently did something similar with one of its most iconic franchises, "Ratchet and Clank." Rather than just remaster the old games in the series, Insomniac totally re-imagined the original game from scratch — and the results were stunning.

Before the remastered version of "Crash Bandicoot" was announced, we wouldn't have been as likely to seriously consider a full-on sequel to the series, but now we're comfortable fully geeking out about the possibility.

One thing's for sure, though: We'll have our eyes peeled for more teases from here on out.